October 6 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's economy will expand by a real 2.6% in 2016, the finance ministry said on Thursday, revising its spring forecast of 2.1% growth of gross domestic product (GDP).
"Domestic demand (consumption and investment) will be the main growth drivers," the finance ministry said in its latest autumn macroeconomic forecast.
In 2017, GDP growth is projected to slightly decrease to 2.5% due to expected lower external demand which will lead to a drop in exports. For 2018 and 2019, the finance ministry expects economic growth of 2.7% each. The projections for each of those three years remain unchanged from the ministry's spring economic forecast.
Final consumption is expected to accelerate its growth from 0.7% in 2015 to 2.7% in 2017, while slightly slowing in the next two years to 2.5% and 2.4% respectively. The 2017 final consumption projection was revised upwards from 2.2%, reflecting expectations of increased domestic demand, the ministry said.
Unemployment is projected to fall significantly to 6.5% by 2019, from last year's 9.1%. In April, the ministry projected a drop to 7.1%.